The road to redemption
by awesomenesshasar
Summary: It has been fifteen years since the incident. Fifteen years since she had been loved. Fifteen years since anyone had been her friend. It had been fifteen years since everything had changed. Now, will Mabel be lost on her way to finding the road to redemption? Rated T for violence, character death, and some swearing. Cover-art by BlurgFest on Colors3-D!
1. The road to the pine tree

Yeah, another story! Don't worry, it's going to be totally depressing, and almost nothing will go right for the good guys! Hmm, that kinda sounds familiar, almost like another story I'm writing... I'm sure it's just a coincidence! *cough totally not cough* Well, here is the first chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

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Fifteen years. It had been fifteen years since she had come on this bus. Fifteen years since she had experienced ignorant bliss and happiness. Fifteen years since she had seen Stan, since she had been loved by her family, since she had a real friend. Fifteen years since everything changed. Looking out the bus window, Mabel saw a green blur of trees that didn't seem to end. She glared at them, every moment of her looking at them reminded her of what had happened. She saw a faint reflection of herself in the window, and it changed from her worrisome expression to a scowl.

_'Why are you coming back here? Everyone hates you, don't they?' _Her reflection asked, prompting Mabel to nod in response.

"Yeah, they probably still do. But I need to try and tie loose ends. It wouldn't be for to him." Her reflection sighed, before turning back to its normal concerned expression. The rest of the bus ride was fairly quiet, leaving her to her thoughts. Finally, the bus driver called;

"Bus fifty-two, stopping at Gravity Falls! Anyone getting off?" She picked up her luggage off the ground, and walked down the aisle to the front. She thanked the bus driver, and got off. Taking in a deep breath, she made her way across the small road to town. After almost twenty minutes, she finally reached the small town. Looking around, she smiled at the fond memories and nostalgia that came with the old structures. The diner was still in business, The Gravity Falls Gossiper office was still up, somehow, the Shack... Was the Shack still running? It probably wasn't, but still, Stan was pretty stubborn. She knew he'd probably rather die than lose the shack to his old age.

She looked to see if there was anyone she knew in the town. Tensing up, she saw a familiar red-head walking her way. She turned around and tried to make herself unrecognizable, but then she called out her name.

"Wait, Mabel? Mabel, is that you?!" Cursing under her breath, she tried to walk away as though she hadn't heard her.

"MABEL! Come back here!" Wendy called angrily, and gave chase. Gasping, Mabel threw her luggage to the ground, trying to run away from her. After a moment or so, she grabbed her from behind, catching her arm. Stopping, Mabel slowly faced her, and was met with a sharp slap from the woman. Biting back her anger, she tried to explain herself.

"Wendy, please I-" She was cut off with a kick to her gut, and she fell to the ground. Wendy firmly stepped on her chest, and knelt down, punching her in the gut. She gave another slap as Mabel stood up, trying to regain her composure. Feeling nothing but anger, she tried to keep her cool as Wendy didn't stop.

"Wendy, I did what I had to! It was for a good reason! STOP IT!" She shouted, attracting some attention from nearby strangers. Taking a fighting stance, Mabel caught the fist Wendy threw. Looking slightly surprised, Mabel took this as an opportunity to swiftly knock her to the ground. Wendy grunted from this, and threw an uppercut, hitting her square in the jaw. A crowd had formed around them, looking on in confusion and excitement as Wendy grabbed her by the collar, and growled;

_"You NEVER had to kill him, you bitch." _She threw the brunette to the ground, but not before tearing part of her sleeve. The red-head stomped away angrily, as the crowd turned to look at the disheveled woman. The people who had heard Wendy's comment cast shameful and angry looks towards her, while the others only looked away and pretended they hadn't seen anything, leaving her in the dust. Sniffling, she made her way back to her suitcase, finding that Wendy thought it would be an oh-so pleasant idea to spread her clothes over the ground.

Grumbling, she quickly packed her bag, and continued down the path she was taking before the interruption. Noticing the sun beginning to set, she hurried her pace. Taking a rather small road up one of the cliffs, she paused to look over the town. It was a lovely view, but she couldn't stop now, or else she wouldn't be able to get there before sunset. She continued her trek up the path, stopping every so often to take a break. Finally, she reached the top.

The old pine tree was still there, after she had planted it. The shadows grew longer, reminding her of what would happen dare she stay out. Quickly pulling out a small flower, a vase, a bottle of water, a letter and some candles and matches, she lit the candles, placing them under the tree, and putting the water and flower in the vase. Breathing deeply, she clasped her hands together, and spoke, her voice trembling.

"Hey, it's been a while hasn't it?" After seemingly no response, she sighed and continued.

"Well, I'm going to visit Stan tomorrow. I just hope he doesn't hate me. Do you think he'll understand? I really hope he does. I want at least one person to like me. Wendy-" She paused, taking a breath.

"Wendy was rather harsh, but I can't blame her. I know I'd feel the same way if she did this to you. Anyways, mom and dad are still really upset about you. They wrote this letter for you, and I'll leave it here so you can read it, 'kay?" She then set the letter down under the tree. Seeing the sun setting almost insanely fast, she hurried up.

"Look, I'm really gonna need as much support as you can give. I want to at least try to patch things up, but I'm not sure anyone will accept me. I'll come every day and talk to you every day if I have to, just don't stop talking to me, please. I need you, even if the others can't hear you. And I'll leave letters too, ok? Just promise me you'll write back, ok?" After an uncomfortable amount of silence, she felt tears stinging her eyes. Why wasn't he responding? He talked to her before, why couldn't he now?

"Dipper- I'm sorry. I'm so, s-so sorry. I shouldn't h-have pulled the trigger. I just didn't w-want you upset, but now I c-can never s-see you ag-gain!" She cried as the tears came out like a river, her sobbing as she thought no one heard her screams and cries of sadness, her agony clearly showing. Once more she screamed as the tears blinded her vision, making everything a blurry mess. Wiping them away, she then whispered;

"I'm sorry I killed you, Dipper."

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A/N: Well, another big project started! Updates will probably be rather scarce for this, but I'm sure I can get up a few chapters before I finish my other big story. Speaking of which, if you love angst galore, review!


	2. The road to the old shack

A/N: Just something to mention, chapters for this are probably going to be a bit short, because I've been a bit busy lately. But that won't stop me from updating! *puts on suit meant to fight bears in the wild* COME AT ME, SCHOOL!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

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Sniffling, Mabel wiped away her tears, regaining her posture. She picked up her bag, and started to walk away, leaving the candles and flower underneath the tree. The sun was almost below the horizon, causing her to rush down the path. She reached the bottom of the cliff, and saw it was now completely dark. Panic spread through her as she heard a familiar cackle. In pure fear, she hit the ground running into the forest, towards where she thought the shack was. Just a minute or two, she needed more time!

The sound of a familiar voice taunting her was more than enough incentive. Sharp branches cut at her, and she tripped over seemingly endless rocky ground. Finally, she could see the silhouette of the shack just a little farther up ahead. In a final sprint, she made the fast few yards and slammed the door open, before running inside and locking it behind her. A few moments later, she heard a loud, prominent banging on the door.

"I know you're in there... Why don't you come out and make this easier?" His voice asked. Not even daring to let out a breath, she stayed silent, in the hopes he would go away if she didn't respond. Finally, she heard him sigh.

"Alright, then. I guess you want to prolong your death as long as possible. Well, good luck with that. Catch you on the flip side!" Peering out one of the windows, Mabel sighed in relief. He was gone. She slumped against the door, slowly sitting down. After closing her eyes for a few moments, she opened them, only to be surprised as a wooden bat hit her extremely hard on her head. Crying out, she fell to the ground, seeing nothing but a familiar pair of brown shoes before she passed out.

* * *

Groaning, Mabel gently lifted her head, trying to make sense of her surroundings. She felt a sudden pain coming from the right side of her head. She tried to move her hand to touch it, but found she was handcuffed to the staircase railing. Sighing, she gently tried to see if there was a way to get it off her wrist. After a few moments, her vision blurred, and the pain worsened. Cringing, she sat at the edge of the staircase for longer than she could bear it. Finally, someone was coming down the steps. Turning her head to look up at the person, her sight blurred again, barely making out a hunched over figure coming down the stairs.

The person looked back at her, and let out a long slow sigh. They stumbled forward, almost falling down the last three steps. They clung tight to the wall, before carefully walking down the last few steps. The person walked away, not saying a word to her. She waited for them to say something, but they disappeared from sight, leaving her alone. After a few more minutes, the person came back. Instead of ignoring her this time, they unhand-cuffed her hand. While doing this, she felt the person's fingers trembling. The handcuff came off her wrist, and she let out a relieved sigh.

"Wh-Who are y-you?" The person asked. The voice was familiar, and her vision was becoming a bit clearer. With the pain subsiding a bit, she could figure out who it was.

"Stan? Is that you?" She asked. The person seemed to tense up at this.

"H-how d-do you k-know my name?" He stuttered. Furrowing her brow, she looked at him with concern. Or at least where she thought he was.

"Stan, don't you remember me? I'm your great-niece! I came here you a few years back with..." She trailed off. Stan finished her sentence.

"D-Dipper." She nodded quietly, but immediately stopped, the pain coming back. Feeling light-headed again, she laid her head against the wall. The blurring shapes around her became a bit more focused.

"Y-you're M-Mabel, right?" He asked. She sighed and said quietly;

"Yes. But Stan, don't you remember me? Don't you know who I am?" She looked at his blurry form with tears in her eyes. She saw him shake his head.

"I r-remember what y-you did to Dip-per." He stuttered, causing her to look at him curiously. How could he only remember what she had done to Dipper, and nothing else? It didn't make any sense whatsoever. Then again, he was much older now, could his old age be affecting his memory? Could it be some sort of supernatural cause? Could it be _him?_

No, it was probably just natural causes. But that was even more worrying. If he couldn't remember her, then she couldn't stay in the shack, and then _he _could find her easily, and finish what he should have done fifteen years ago. She couldn't let that happen, she needed to gain back his trust, or she couldn't live much longer. Biting back a scream of frustration, she let out a short, angry breath. This was going to be tough.

"Stan, can I please stay here? I'll work around the shack, I'll work in the gift-shop for free, I just need a place to stay." She begged. Stan eyed her suspiciously, and sniffled.

"And why sh-should I? Y-you-"

"I know what I did was wrong, and if you just let me explain, I'll do anything to stay here, you name it! I just need to stay in the shack!" She pleaded desperately, her hands clasped together. Stan gave another huff.

"Fine. Let me h-hear what y-you have to e-excuse this." He stood up, but staggered slightly, and Mabel caught him before he could hit the ground. She could barely stand as well, but made an effort to try and bear through it. She guided him to the kitchen, and he shakily sat down. Taking a deep breath, she started.

"It all happened on our last night here..."

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A/N: Sorry, for the short chapters, I feel like they should be shorter for this story. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Oh, don't worry, you won't get an explanation for a while! Muhahahahahaha! Review if you liked this chapter, and I'm looking forward to the next episode!


	3. The road to explanantions

A/N: Well, now that I've finished my other story, I'll probably be able to update this more! I hope you all like vague descriptions of things, because that's all you're getting!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

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Stan stumbled to the kitchen, trying to keep his balance. His elderly body had lost the strength he used to have, and he was extremely weak. After fifteen years, it was a wonder how he was still alive. At the age of ninety-five, one would guess he would be bed-ridden, and rather sickly. But Stan had refused to accept this, trying to keep his liveliness. But as he was older, things were increasingly difficult. He had just wanted to forget the summer that had nearly killed him. It was so ridiculously upsetting that he himself hadn't been taking care of the shack, that role being given to Soos instead. The handyman was grateful for this, and in turn had decided to take care of Stan in his older age. Though the handyman had left alone him this night. Of course, something huge had happened, and now he would have to take in Mabel. Even though he was sure she wasn't any good, he wanted to at least try to make peace with her. That would be what Dipper would've wanted, right?

He came into the kitchen, and opened one of the cupboards. Scanning the different things in there, he pulled out a small box that contained a few tea bags. He ran some hot water in the sink for a moment before he grabbed two cups and filled them up with the water before placing the tea bags in each one. He pulled out a small bowl of sugar, and put a spoonful into each cup. He handed one to Mabel, and shakily sat down. He took a small sip.

"So, what brings you back here?" Stan asked almost immediately. Mabel looked at her reflection in the dark red drink, her reflection whispering;

_"Don't tell Stan about him. He'll just get hurt."_

Frowning at her reflection, she shook her head. She could tell him, couldn't she? He would be safe. The deal she had made would keep him safe. Sighing, Mabel started to explain why she was coming back.

"I just wanted to make amends with everyone. I think now's the best time to come back, I was released from prison a few weeks ago. And..." She trailed off, looking back up at him with an ashamed expression. She decided now was the time to tell why she had killed Dipper. As Stan listened to the story, his anger had disappeared, replaced with fear. That was why. This was why she had done such a heinous act. This was terrible! So many hated her because of this. Stan felt the need to comfort her from this revelation. He gave a look of sympathy, and pulled her into a shaky hug. Sniffling, she returned it.

"And I had pulled the trigger, and next thing I knew, I was in prison. It's just been so long, I need to tie up loose ends. I can't just leave things the way they are. It wouldn't be fair." Mabel sobbed into his shoulder, causing him to sigh. He weakly patted her back. He tried to comfort her, and she seemed to be calming down a bit. She parted from the hug, wiping away her tears. Still shaken up, she sighed tiredly. Picking up the cup, she took a sip of the tea. She had acquired a taste for it over the years, and Stan had made her favorite kind. Looking out the window in the kitchen, she saw stars shining outside. The forest was a mass of black and dark green edges, seeming intimidating, and dangerously sharp. She was grateful that Stan was forgiving in his older age. It was refreshing to have someone respond at least a bit positively to her being there, without being creepy or wanting something from her.

Prison hadn't treated her kindly, and the only person who had been nice to her was Gideon. Of course, with her rejecting him at every turn, he grew to resent her, and there was absolutely no one she could trust in the prison. It was terrifying at first, though she had gotten used to it over time. It had transformed her into a different person. She was still rather hesitant with reaching out to anyone else, with her only having talked to her reflection in all those years. She had gotten used to it talking back to her, and was the only person- thing she felt comfortable talking to presently. It was still a bit hard for her to talk to Stan. Mabel was afraid he would turn his back on her, and disown her just like her parents had. But he was all she had left. The only one who understood her actions.

He was what she was clinging her sanity to.

If she lost him, she would lose everything.

Taking another sip, she stared outside the window. She caught a glimpse of a familiar shadow. Tensing up, she felt the fear inside of her rise. He was lurking outside, just waiting for her to slip up and go outside. But she wouldn't. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction of winning. She just needed to stay inside. It would all be fine as long as she didn't leave. Taking a deep breath, she excused herself, going upstairs to the bathroom. Once there, she locked the door. Looking at herself in the mirror, her reflection let out a sigh.

_"We have to do something. He's just going to keep coming back, and nothing will stop him. Can't we just leave?" _She pleaded. Mabel shook her head.

"No, we still need to make up with the others. I can't just leave! It would be selfish. Besides, he can't even get in." Mabel pointed out, with a matter-of-fact smile. Her reflection raised an eyebrow.

_"Really? Well, I guess you're right. Especially since he's right behind you."_ Whipping around, Mabel stared in shock as he stood there, right in front of her. Everything went blank in her mind, her instincts screaming for her to run, run, run, even her reflection had a look of worry on her face, staring nervously at her original and the monster behind her.

"I-it can't b-be..." She trailed off. He only smirked, taking a step forward.

"Long time no-see, huh?"

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A/N: Woohoo! I'm super excited for what I have planned for this story. None of you will know what I have planned. None of you! Muhahahaha! Bonus points to anyone who can guess who _he _is. Hint: It's not Him from the Powerpuff Girls. But it's probably obvious. It's Gabe, the puppet master! Just another twist in this road... Please review!


	4. The road to paranoia

A/N: Another chapter, coming to you from live from my bunker! Yahoo! I'm looking forward to torturing- I mean, um, typing up these chapters! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Much more will be revealed very soon...

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

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Her eyes widening, Mabel backed up against the sink, her hands clutching the sides. With a smug expression, he floated closer to her. She began breathing heavily, on the verge of hyperventilating. Her knuckles turned white from how hard she was gripping the sink. Fear coursed through her, and she almost broke down crying, trying to stay calm in front of him. It was hard to do so, though, and she found herself tearing up. They had made an agreement! He wasn't supposed to be here, he wasn't supposed to be here! With fear in her eyes, she stared into his own.

"What are you doing here?" She asked through gritted teeth. He only chuckled, and waved a hand.

"Hey, I just thought I'd drop by, check in to see if you haven't died yet." He responded nonchalantly. Glaring at him, she decided to ignore this comment. He had promised that he wouldn't come near her when she was in the shack after dark! Then, she would be safe.

"Well, promises are just meant to be broken, aren't they?" He stated. She only gulped in response, trying to remain indifferent at his presence. But she knew all too well he could sense her fear.

"Just get out." She growled. He raised an eyebrow, his only eyebrow.

"Do you really think you're in the position to order me around? In case you've forgotten what our deal was-"

"I haven't forgotten. Just leave me alone." She ordered with a scowl. He only gave a glare in return, and a moment later, she felt a stinging pain in her hands, like burning water was running over them. She screamed in pain as the feeling spread out to the rest of her body. She fell over to her knees, screaming loudly, and she heard loud pounding on the door. Stan was outside, the door, yelling if she was ok or not. She couldn't respond, feeling the burning sensation eat away at her.

Stan kept shouting for her, and she tried to unlock the door, but found she couldn't reach it. He only looked on with a satisfied look. In a flash, he disappeared, leaving her to her meet her demise. Curled up on the floor, trying to comfort herself before she shuddered one last time.

Her eyes snapping open, Mabel found the water had run hot for a few minutes, and her hands were burning from the pain. Gasping, she retracted her hand, and gently rubbed it. Now, they were both bright pink from the water, and it hurt like hell. Wincing, she looked back up at her reflection, who grimaced at the scene she had just imagined. The paranoia was really getting to her. Now, she couldn't even wash her hands without seeing something horrific. She needed to get control of herself, before she went insane. Unlocking the door, she went back downstairs.

Stan stood at the bottom of the stairs, with a worried expression on his face. Mabel came down fast, with a concerned look on her face. Stan furrowed his brow at her expression.

"Mabel, you've been in the bathroom for fifteen minutes. Is everything ok?" He asked. Mabel nodded.

"Yeah, I was just... washing my hands."

* * *

The next morning, Stan had woken up to the smell of something burning. A small amount of black smoke had made its way into his room. Panic filled him, and he immediately jumped up, getting out of bed surprisingly fast. He opened the door, and ran into the smoke with worry. He coughed, and this cough made him stop and keel over from the smoke coming into his lungs. He stumbled around blindly, trying to find a way out of the smoke. Finally, he found himself in the kitchen, and Mabel was there trying to clear away the smoke. She was coughing also, but not as extremely as he was. She finally lifted the pan and ran it under cold water for a minute or two.

The smoke had dispersed, and she looked at the pan disappointedly. Now, there was only what seemed to be the blackened remains of what appeared to be hash-browns. Sighing, she put the pan back in the sink, and tore off the apron she was wearing. Stan gave a glare.

"What the hell were you trying to do?! Burn the house down?!" He shouted angrily. She gasped.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Are you ok? Are you breathing fine? I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed frantically, and began to look him up and down, checking his pulse, feeling his forehead, and making him open his mouth. He grew angry at this, and slapped away her hand.

"Stop it! I'm fine!" He snapped. Mabel hung her head at this.

"Sorry." She muttered, and turned around to leave the room. Seeing this change in his niece, he sighed, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait."

She turned back to him. When she looked at him expectantly, he cleared his throat. Trying not to seem too forgiving he said;

"Sorry about that. Just clean up the pan, please." Mabel immediately started to scrub at the dish in the sink with some dish soap. It wouldn't come out at first, the charred crumbs becoming stuck to her fingers. But after a few times, she was able to clean it out. With a small smile of satisfaction at this, she placed the pan in the cabinet where she had gotten it from. While she was doing this, Stan was watching her.

She had indeed grown up, from what he could remember of her. He had several memories of her, but the only one he could remember distinctly was the night they had found her with his rifle, standing over Dipper's body while she was breathing heavily. He had no warning about this, she had just done it on the last night they were in Gravity Falls. What a great memory to leave behind. He knew she was sobbing hysterically when the police had dragged her away. They had Dipper's funeral only three days later, and she had come, in handcuffs and a police officer by her side. She was the one who was crying the most, as his body stiffly laid in the coffin. She had begged them not to put him in the ground, but they did so anyways. The next morning, he had gotten news someone had broken into his grave and taken his body. It was pretty obvious who had done it, and they had found her on the cliff where they had their last meeting with Gideon.

They never found his body, though. She refused to tell them where she put it. She always said it was somewhere safe. They looked all over Gravity Falls to try and find it, but it was no use. Then, her parents disowned her. They had never talked to her since, from what he could tell. Prison wasn't very kind to her, was it? No, he could tell by the look in her eyes she had endured more than she would have liked to.

"Hey, Stan, do you want me to make some pancakes?" Her question broke him out of his thoughts. He nodded in response. As she pulled out a few eggs and started to make the batter, Stan thought some more. If she was so eager to be friends with him, she must be really lonely, or she could be planning to kill him. What?! No, she would never do that! How had that thought even crossed his mind?! Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought. No, she was trying, and he believed her. Still, he watched her suspiciously, as a smile was on her face. Maybe he should keep his distance for now.

Satisfied with this, he whispered to himself;

"Trust no one."

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Haha! You all thought I was going to reveal who He was, didn't you? Well too bad, suckers! Hahaha! Next chapter will be even more depressing-er-ish, and you may find out what she's done with Dipper's body... Review please, and I'll update soon!


	5. The road to a new name

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! For all those hoping things will work out, oh don't worry. It won't. Things will only get worse and worse from here on out. Congratulations on getting yourselves into more than you bargained for just by clicking on this...

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

* * *

After making the pancakes, Mabel whipped out some syrup, and drizzled it on them. Stan took a hesitant bite. They tasted fine, but had an odd aftertaste. He then spit some of it out. He noticed some light pink powder was in the pancakes. Feeling afraid for a moment, he assumed it was poison, and threw his pancakes off the table. Mabel was startled at this, and almost choked before coughing it back up. He gave a glare, and shouted;

"What the hell is in these pancakes?!"

Mabel winced, and reluctantly pulled out a small half empty packet of Smile Dip.

"Sorry, I just thought they wouldn't taste as good without some Smile Dip. Do you want me to make some ones without it?"

Sighing dejectedly, Stan sat back down, rubbing his temples. So it wasn't poison.

"Yeah, just go out into town and buy some more supplies to make some. Pay for it with this."

He handed her a small wad of money. Altogether, it was thirty dollars. Mabel gave an appreciative glance, and he shrugged it off.

"Whatever, just get out of here, you knucklehead."

She nodded, and grabbed a few things to disguise herself. She was afraid she would be recognized, and what Wendy had done to her would happen again. She was recovering from that, and her hands still felt sore from the hot water last night. Overall, she felt like everything hurt. Walking out with sunglasses and a scarf covering her face, and her short hair tied up, she glanced around. There were several towns-people out and about, paying no mind to her. Letting out a relieved sigh, she continued on her way to the grocery store. No one had recognized her yet. This was good.

But a moment later, she felt someone hold her hand tightly. Tensing up, she didn't even look as he made himself known. He smirked at her fear. She continued walking along, trying to act normal as she felt her heart racing. Of course, breaking their agreement wasn't enough, he had to show up when she was just trying to act normal and not get beaten to a pulp by the townspeople. But, he just had to have some fun, didn't he? Taking a deep breath, she muttered;

"Gee, thanks for accompanying me. But you sure don't look normal. Did you get run over by a car?"

He only squeezed her hand tightly, and smirked when she winced from how tight he was gripping it.

"I just thought I could be a bit more conspicuous with my disguise. And besides, it's much more fun to see you squirm like this." He explained, making her scowl, though he couldn't see it.

She tried to ignore him, but he continued speaking to her.

"So, what kind of pancakes are you gonna make? I prefer chocolate chip. I tried them once, before I realized it was actually filled with nutmeg. Maybe that's why it tasted so good. Actually, scratch what I said about the chocolate. Get nutmeg instead!"

As he rambled on about his favorite sweets, Mabel listened, and they finally arrived at the grocery store. He then leaned closer to her, so that his _brown _hair tickled her ear. Taking a sharp breath from this, she tried to recoil, but his grip on her hand tightened so that his claw-like nails dug into her palm. He then whispered;

"I'll see you later, _Mabel._"

And with that, he disappeared.

* * *

Meanwhile, Stan was at home, trying to recover from the scare he had gotten. She was just as hyperactive as she was when she was twelve. It was a bit refreshing to him, he hadn't experienced anything supernatural in fifteen years. This was hard for him, as he was so used to the strange occurrences. It was also slightly comforting to know there was something in those woods, even if it was something like a Gremloblin. After Dipper's death, the forest was always seemingly empty, without a trace of anything supernatural.

It was like the day he died, the forest did, too.

Not even the incompetent Gnomes had bothered to inch their way towards town to find a new queen. And, everything that hadn't even been in the forest had seemed to disappear, too. The code to 'Unleash Ultimate Power' on the console of 'Fight Fighters' had disappeared. The bunker had faded away, with the lever becoming a normal branch. And, worst of all, the portal had vanished into thin air. Not even a trace of it as he woke up and rushed downstairs. Was this the effect of one of the ten dying? That was the most plausible thing, as he sobbed at its disappearance.

Now, there was no way to get-

His thoughts were disturbed by someone coming through the back door. Stan looked up, and saw the aged man-child, Soos, had made himself known. He still looked like he had fifteen years ago, but wrinkles had formed on his face, and several gray strands had appeared in his hair. He had come in, and had a small brief-case with him. Soos gave a friendly smile to Stan, and sat across the table from him. He propped up the case and opened it.

"Well, Mr. Pines, you know what I told you about cooking by yourself. You could seriously hurt yourself. Be careful next time, and wait 'till I'm with you to cook, ok?"

Soos had continued rummaging through the case, expecting him to answer. Looking over at him, Soos gave a curious look.

"Mr Pines?" He asked.

Stan only shuddered in response, and shook his head.

"Soos, someone's gonna be staying here with me. She's not gonna take your place, but she will help around the shack. She need's the support." Soos raised an eyebrow at this, and asked;

"What's her name?"

Stan panicked for a minute. Would she want him to know it was her? He decided she would most likely want her privacy, so he quickly lied;

"Her name is Genevieve."

Soos nodded, and picked up a bottle full of pills. He opened it and shook out a few of them. He handed them to Stan, and he took them hesitantly. He gave a look to Soos, and Soos shook his head. Sighing, he gulped down the pills. A moment later, he started coughing and wheezing very hard. Soos remained unfazed by this, and Stan looked back up, breathing heavily, but feeling better. He was close to tears, and the man-child gave him a comforting pat on the back.

"Soos, I'm not sure I can take this anymore. If I keep taking these pills, I'm not sure I'll be able to make it." He gasped truthfully, his body shuddering. Soos looked away from him, not saying anything else.

"Stan, you need to keep on living. This is the only way we can ensure that! I just don't wanna lose you. You're the only father figure I've ever had, and I can't lose you, dude." He sniffled, pulling him into a tight hug. Stan returned the hug, feeling conflicted at this sudden burst of emotion. He then felt Soos depart from the hug, the man-child wiping away several tears.

"I'm sorry, dude. It's just, ever since Mabel killed Dipper, I can't go a single day without thinking about that. It's really freaked me out and put me on edge. I don't wanna lose you, too, dude."

Stan nodded, understanding his feelings. He then stood up, with some help from Soos, and told him;

"Don't worry about me Soos. How about you meet Genevieve?"

* * *

A/N: Yes, the person stalking Mabel has brown hair. And calls her by her name. Now gee, who could that be? Is anyone feeling uncertain about who's stalking her now? Hmm? Well, I needn't torture you anymore, as I hope to update by Halloween. If I don't, you guys can hang me. But then you wouldn't figure out that the person stalking Mabel is- *static* Oh, phew! Almost blew my cover. Thank you, random burst of static! Also, if any of you can guess what I'm going to be for Halloween just by me giving you the description of the costume, you guys get an early update! Now, what I'll be wearing;

A star on my shirt

a toy gun

That's it. I hope you guys can guess it, but until then, adieu!


	6. The road to a new problem

A/N: Dang it, Tasmanian Devil! You figured me out! Well, happy Halloween, suckers! Yes, I know it's not actually Halloween. I hope you enjoy this especially spooky chapter! *flips off lights and turns on flashlight* OoOoOoOoOh! Muhahahahaha! Have a fantastical, ghoulish night! *flashlight flickers off* Dammit! Not again!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

* * *

Carrying the groceries back home, Mabel tried not to think about the brunette who had appeared before her. He was just trying to mess with her. There was no way it was her brother... Right? He would never try to torment her, he knew what she'd done was for a good reason. But, what if he had been convinced otherwise? Would he really do that? Shaking off the thought, she came to the shack. Opening the door, she was surprised to see Stan and Soos in the living room, waiting for her. Stan glanced at the bag of groceries she had brought home, while Soos stared at her curiously, trying to figure out what she looked like. With the scarf and sunglasses covering the most important parts of her face, he couldn't recognize her. She tensed up at seeing him, thinking he might have figured out who she was. He didn't show any signs of this, though. Stan gestured for her to sit down, and she obliged, nervously facing Soos.

"This," said Stan, gesturing to her,"is Genevieve. She just got here last night, and she'll be staying in the shack until she finds a different place to stay." He gave a worried glance to her as Soos shook her hand. The man-child looked at her curiously as she hadn't said anything yet. He ignored this for the moment, and greeted;

"'Sup, dude? The name's Soos." He gave a friendly smile, and she averted her gaze. Or at least, he thought she did. It was hard to tell with her having the glasses on. She only nodded, still not speaking. Finally, she said in a low, disguised voice;

"It's nice to meet you, Soos." She then let go of his hand, and stood up, handing the groceries to him.

"Sorry to cut this meeting short, but I have a place I need to go. I'll be back soon."

Before either of them could protest, she turned around, and left the shack with a small bag. Stan shrugged this off, while Soos stared in her direction suspiciously. He then stood up, and went into the kitchen to fix up some food for the three of them. Stan glanced at the direction she went in with caution and slight concern. Sighing, he turned away from the door, and glanced in Soos' direction as he began to cook. Neither of them noticed a strange, familiar brunette nearby, grinning maliciously as Mabel made her way up the cliff-side. Making himself all but a shadowy figure, he snaked his way along the side of the cliff, just out of sight. She almost caught him a few times, but she had overall shrugged it off as her paranoia getting to her.

Finally reaching the top of the cliff by the old Pine Tree, she found what she had set the previous night was all there, all except the letter she had set down for him. Smiling at this, she pulled out a small envelope, and set it against the tree. She then relit the candles, and put two more flowers in the vase she had set down. The two flowers were a Marigold and Chrysanthemum, along with the other assorted flowers she had already put in there. Clasping her hands together once more, she closed her eyes, not noticing the brunette appearing. She whispered how she was doing to the tree, and he grinned as he approached her from behind. As she finally finished, he held her from behind, chuckling to himself as she gasped. He swiftly held her arms against her back, so she couldn't struggle away. Scowling, Mabel growled;

"What. Do. You. Want." He laughed at this, responding with;

"Oh, I just wanted to tell you I absolutely _loved_ the letter from mom and dad. It's very touching you leave them here for me." He said with a fake sigh. He felt his grin widen as she trembled from him holding her there. He then softly purred;

"What? You're upset to see your own brother?" He then pouted, letting her go. She quickly scrambled away, running to the tree. Fixing her glare on him, she scowled. Putting his hands up as if to surrender, he smirked cockily, backing up to the edge of the cliff. Giving a mock salute, he leaned over backwards, falling off. Gasping, she rushed to edge, looking over to see him. He was leaning casually against the edge, smiling.

"So you do care." He commented with a smirk. He let out a short laugh when Mabel scowled. Packing up a few of her things, she shouted;

"Fuck off!"

* * *

Groaning, she made her way down the cliff. It was only her first day back, and already he had proved to be insufferable. How would she survive long enough to win back everyone's trust? This was proving to be harder than she had predicted. Making her way down the cliff-side, she stopped for a moment, looking around. She could've sworn she'd seen something out of the corner of her eye...

Shrugging it off as her paranoia getting to her, she continued down the cliff carefully. Upon reaching the bottom, she looked around nervously, trying not to be spotted by anyone running about. True, there were only a few familiar faces about, but this still made her anxious one of them would recognize her. She just wanted to stay low-key before she made a big appearance or anything. And if any of the townspeople had figured out her identity before she could explain herself, they would have her head for sure! Being as careful as she could, she made her way to the shack, not bothering to look in front of her. Then, she bumped into someone, and looked up, immediately recognizing her. Before she could escape, the blonde glared at her, picking up the bag she was carrying, and had just dropped.

"Hey, watch where you're going! God, you're-" She turned to Mabel, and her expression immediately softened. She brushed some of her short blonde hair to the side.

"-You're new here." As she scanned Mabel, the brunette was afraid she would be recognized. The woman in front of her, however didn't show any sign of knowing her true identity.

"Sorry about that, I thought you were someone else. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Pacifica Northwest, great-granddaughter of the noble, honest, hard-working, and respectable Nathaniel Northwest, the founder of this town. I'm also very rich." Pacifica gave a genuine smile, and politely asked;

"What's your name?"

"Um, hi. I'm Genevieve, but just call me Gen. Look, I have to go somewhere, so I need to hurry-" Pacifica hushed her, and wrote something on a slip of paper. She handed it to her, and winked. Before she could respond, the woman had sauntered away. Looking back at Mabel for one more moment, she shouted;

"Call me later, cutie!"

Glancing back down at the slip of paper, her stomach twisted when she found Pacifica's phone number on it, along with a heart and a small smiley face. What would she do? She didn't want to be friends with her under a false name! What would she think when she found out?! What would she tell other people?! Suddenly, she realized the error in telling her name. If she had just told the most popular person in town her name, the news would spread like wild-fire, and she would be hunted down by everyone to learn more about her. If she were to keep up the disguise, she could never truly gain their forgiveness. But if she revealed herself, she would be chased out of town. Both were the most undesirable options she could've gotten. But here she was, in such a predicament.

Fuck.

* * *

A/N: Well, guess who's gonna be a lame pun for Halloween? This guy! So, is anyone going as a Gravity Falls character? If you are, you're my favoritest person in the whole world, and I'll give you all my candy! Hiyaahhhh! *throws candy and confetti* Celebrate, and have a happy Halloween! Please review!


	7. The road to a strange feeling

A/N: Another chapter! Also, guess whose Birthday it is? Mine! Alas, today is day the day I turn 618 years old... Yay. But who cares? Onto the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

* * *

Mabel had practically sprinted home, not wanting anyone else to see her. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Why hadn't she thought about this before?! How come this would be the thing that most likely destroyed her? Trying to push the thought away, she then remembered what the blonde had said to her. Cutie? What did she mean by that? Was she just being friendly? Or was she flirting? What had she meant? This was so confusing, but she needed to get back to the shack. As she came to the door, she noticed someone familiar nearby. Tensing up, she stared in shock as Wendy entered the shack from the door that lead to the gift-shop. Still, she hesitantly opened the door, and entered. Trying to dodge Soos and Stan, she quickly rushed upstairs. She quickly opened the door to her old room, and slammed the door behind her. She then looked around the room.

Surprisingly, everything was left in tact, and it all looked the same, save for Dipper's things gone and dust everywhere. Glancing over her side of the room, she smiled to herself as she saw familiar and nostalgic things. The posters she had of boy-bands were still up, her sweater with the Shooting Star on it lay in a small bundle. Her sheets were in the same messy array they had been on her last day there. She noticed a few more things, like her old age-inappropriate romance novels stacked in her order from favorite to least favorite, a few containers of lip gloss she had put on every day just in case she accidentally on purpose ran into a cute boy who was offering free kisses, a few tubes of glitter, and last, but certainly not least, her old knitting needles and yarn. The yarn looked frayed and old, certainly not suitable for knitting. But, with overwhelming nostalgia, she hesitantly picked them up. It brought back what seemed like hundreds of memories rushing back to her and hitting her in the head over and over. With this overwhelming feeling, she stumbled back, and they clattered to the floor. She stared at them fearfully. Why had she felt such dread when she picked them up? It wasn't logical, what did this mean? Feeling her stomach twist into knots just thinking about it, she turned to leave. She took one more glance at the things in the room, and then, with a shudder, left, not noticing the man who was stalking her appear as a shadowy form emerging from the needles. With a chuckle, he swept over to the wall, and followed her down without her noticing him.

* * *

Now downstairs in the gift-shop, she swept the old broom from side to side. The brunette looked around nervously, seeing several familiar faces. She hoped none had noticed her and would just dismiss her as a normal employee. For now, it worked. She wished it would stay that way for the rest of her time there, but with Pacifica knowing her there, she doubted her wish would come true. But so far, no one had dared approach her. She was relieved at this. She still wasn't used to talking to anyone yet, despite being a social butterfly at the age of twelve. But then again, that was when she'd killed-

"Hello?" A familiar voice asked her. Looking up, Mabel immediately tensed at the woman speaking to her. She flinched, backing away for a moment. The red-head raised an eyebrow.

"Are you ok?" Wendy asked. Mabel only weakly nodded in return.

"Well, you're new around here, aren't you? I'm Wendy Corduroy. And you are...?" She reached out her hand to shake, with an expectant look. Mabel nodded, and replied in her disguised voice;

"I'm Genevieve. It's nice to meet you, Wendy." The brunette hope she hadn't noticed her hand was extremely sweaty. Wendy didn't seem to notice this, which left her somewhat relieved.

"So, when did you get here in town?" She inquired. Mabel shrugged.

"Just last... night..." She trailed off, looking on in fear as he made a small gesture to her, cutting his throat with his finger, a malicious grin on his face. Eyes widening, she gulped. Wendy gave a curious look to her, and turned around to see what she was staring at. He had immediately disappeared, and Wendy turned back to Mabel with a curious look on her face.

"What was that all about? Are you ok?" She asked again.

Mabel hastily nodded, not wanting to talk to her anymore. Wendy furrowed her brow at this. Who was this strange woman? Why was she wearing those things over face? It was suspicious to her, and she knew suspicious when she saw. After all, she had grown up in the bizarre town. She then reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, to grab her attention. The brunette ignored her, and continued sweeping. Become annoyed with her lack of response, the red-head decided to leave her alone for now. She instead went behind the door the read 'Employees Only'. She caught Stan and Soos in the kitchen, and gave them both a smile. Soos waved a whisk in the air to wave, whereas Stan looked almost upset to see her. But he pulled a chair out for her anyway. She thanked him, and then said;

"Stan, Soos, you wouldn't have happened to see Mabel the other day, would you?"

Soos immediately stopped whisking the batter, instead slowly turning toward her. Stan feigned surprise, looking shocked. Wendy cringed as they didn't say anything for a while. Finally, Soos asked;

"Why do you ask?" Wendy gulped, feeling sickened to tell them this.

"Well, I... saw her... last night." She managed to get the words out, and Soos' eyes widened, where Stan gripped the table so his knuckles turned white. They all stared at each other for a moment, the tension so thick you would need to cut it with an ax. Finally, Stan said;

"What... is she doing back?"

"I don't know, but I hope she got the hint I gave her, and got her sorry ass out of here. If I find her again, she'll get what's coming to her. I swear."

With this final notion, she left the room, and came to Mabel in the gift-shop. Shooting a suspicious glance at her, she then left. Letting out a deep breath, Mabel set the broom down, and leaned against the wall. If Wendy found out that was really her, she doubted she would walk away with only a few scratches and bruises. She knew she was holding back last night, she wasn't giving it her all. That was just her warning. But if that was just a warning, what would her all be? Feeling a new wave of fatigue set over her, she worked through the day, and saw it was a good few hours before the sun would set. Feeling around her pocket, she found the slip of paper Pacifica had given her. With hesitancy, she dialed the number, and heard it ring a few times.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ri-_

"Hello?" Slightly startled to hear her voice on the line and not one of her servants, she fumbled for a moment, before responding;

"Uh, yeah, it's me Gen. I was wondering if we could hang out tonight? But I'd need to be back before sunset." She could practically hear her grin widening over the phone. The blonde then exclaimed excitedly into the phone;

"Yeah! Of course! I'll come over and meet you! Where are you, again?"

"At the Mystery Shack."

"Alright, see you then, cutie!"

Hanging up the phone, she felt her stomach twist at her calling her cutie again. Suddenly, she felt calling her wasn't the best idea. But, she might as well meet her, and see how she'd changed.

After all, how bad could it be?

* * *

A/N: Well, I'm excited for getting presents and stuff! Money! Presents! Satanic Rituals! Fanfiction! All things I have lined up for today! Thanks for reading, and please review!


	8. The road to a new friend

A/N: Wow, almost fifty reviews already? This is kinda surprising! Also, guess who finished watching Over The Garden Wall and is now bawling at the ending? This guy! Ugh, it's so fantastic. I really hope to see some crossovers with Over the Garden Wall here. I'd be super happy to see one. But enough talk about the beautiful, atmospheric cartoon. Here's the chapter!Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

* * *

Mabel looked around the car, marveling quietly at the things in it. Pacifica seemed to notice this, and gave a small smile at her fascination with the fancy things in the car. Mabel glanced back at her, feeling queasy. Why had she said cutie? She really did like her, didn't she? Or maybe it was just a friendly term? She honestly didn't know. It could be either, but she just hoped it was the latter. If it were the former, well, then she'd be in trouble. She wasn't particularly interested in anyone, and if Pacifica figured out who she was, things would be all the more awkward. Mabel just hoped they would be able to form a nice and regular friendship, or as normal as it could be in the strange town. But why did she want to give her her phone number? It wasn't like there was anything special about her, other than the fact she had murdered her twin. But that wasn't special, that was terrifying and awful. If Pacifica hadn't talked to her, then she wouldn't have to worry about the town knowing her. But of course she wanted to know who the stranger was. Well, maybe she could just tell her who she is so she wouldn't get hurt down the road. That would be the only way to keep her safe. Mabel didn't want him to hurt her. But then the town would know who she was! Why was this so frustratingly difficult?! Why couldn't Pacifica have just carried on her merry way without any more words exchanged?

"Alright, we're here!" Pacifica exclaimed, bringing her back to reality. Shaking her head, Mabel opened the car door and got out. Pacifica lead her to the front door. Mabel was surprised that she wasn't living in the extravagant mansion her parents owned, but rather a small, humble cottage that seemed to have a friendly atmosphere to it. It was quite lovely on the outside, and there was a small flower garden hidden by a white fence. It was surprising to her, as she had pictured that Pacifica would live in an extravagant home that her parents would have bought or built for her. Seeing this defied her expectations, but in a pleasant way. It was comforting seeing her living in such a small place. It felt like she was more human than she'd previously thought. Walking toward the front door, Pacifica unlocked it with her keys, and opened it for Mabel to step in. She glanced at the flowers before obliging, and stepping inside. There were two rooms visible at the moment. The living room had a small blue carpet with triangles, a comfortable looking overstuffed purple couch, a window next to the couch, and a large T.V from about ten years ago. The kitchen had a few wooden cabinets, a small black refrigerator, and a large basket containing all the utensils she needed. There were also a few pots and pans scattered about the dark-blue counters, with grease stuck in them. Drinking in her surroundings, Mabel smiled at the smaller decorative flourishes she had put in, such as small birds painted on the wall, some saying a few things. She then realized how realistic they looked, even next to the silly sayings.

"You like them? I painted those myself." Pacifica said, her back turned to the brunette as she wandered to the kitchen.

Mabel looked up from inspecting the small paintings. Pacifica had returned with two small plastic cups, filled with water. She then sat on the sofa, and motioned for her to sit next to her. Mabel hesitantly sat next to her, and looked at the water for a moment, wondering how she was supposed to drink it with her disguise on. Pacifica then gave her a curious look.

"Hey, why're you wearing that stuff? Isn't uncomfortable?" She leaned forward a bit, about to remove it if she didn't answer. The 27 year-old reacted quickly though, and lied;

"I have a few scars, I'd rather not take these off, please." The blonde shrunk away, with a look of regret.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine. You asked first. Some people just take it off without asking."

"Oh..." She trailed off awkwardly, but then stood up.

"Hey, wanna come to my room?"

Mabel nodded, smiling under the scarf. Pacifica lead her down a small hallway with a few more paintings on the walls, but most were unfinished. She opened a Mahogany door on the right side of the hall. With a smile, she opened the door. Peeking in, Mabel gasped. Her whole room was a cluttered mess, with paintings and sketches littered throughout the room. The ceiling and walls were all covered with beautiful paintings, all of them being somehow connected. A man played a saxophone with a few cats at his heels while a car was passing by with a few teenagers inside. Past the car was a cloud staring sadly down at a bird, that was in a tree in a forest with a few bobcats clawing at it. A park ranger was only a few feet away, with a child behind him. Deeper in the forest was a small circle of fairies circled around a man who was on his knees. Next to the man was a scroll with unreadable words. The painting stopped there, but that had taken up most of the space on the walls and half the ceiling. The painting was so detailed, it was hard to comprehend it had been painted, and not photographed. Pacifica jumped over a pile of a few sketches, and went to her closet. Searching through it for a moment, she shouted;

"Aha!"

A moment later, she pulled out an apron that had an assortment of colors on it. It was incredible how many colors were on it. Tying it behind her back, she felt around in the pocket for a few moment. She then pulled out a cup of black paint and a paint brush. With furious determination, she stood on her bed, and then crouched down, starting to paint on the headboard. After a few moments, she turned back towards Mabel, with a cheeky grin. Without a moment of hesitation, she leaned forward to see that the blonde had painted her own name on the headboard, with a few birds and flowers painted right next to it. They all seemed so life-like, and she let her fingers brush against a bird with copper wings and a beautiful rich brown head. It seemed to stare back at her with deep intrigue. Smiling, she turned back to Pacifica.

"It's wonderful." She quietly breathed.

Pacifica gave a smile, turning to the headboard again. They shared a silent moment, both staring at the beautiful painting. Mabel turned back to Pacifica with a shy smile. Though the blonde couldn't see it, she could guess her expression. The woman turned to her other paintings and sketches littered throughout the room. Walking over to one, she gently picked it up, and stared at it with a few tears in her eyes before setting it back down into the messy pile. Mabel looked at her curiously before Pacifica walked out of the room. The brunette followed her out. She didn't look at the picture the blonde had drawn, but fi she did, she would have felt a touch of sadness.

The picture was one of a younger Mabel and Pacifica chatting with smiles on their faces.

Pacifica sat out in the living room once more, and Mabel sat next to her. They chatted for a while, and Mabel found out she had been working on the painting in her room for about two years. She said she was halfway done with it, and was going to add much more to it. Mabel told her several things about herself, most of them being true, or the words were just twisted around so they weren't true, but they weren't lies either. After about an hour, the brunette finally asked;

"So, do you have any family?" The blonde's smile faded.

"Well, not really. Once I turned twenty, my parents offered to give me their corporation in their failing health. But, once they passed away, I didn't know what to do, and I ran their company into the ground. I lost all their money. We filed bankruptcy five years ago. For a long time, I was in a rut, and I came into a depression. I didn't talk to anyone for quite a while, and my "friends" had deserted me. But I eventually recovered, and now I'm living here. To be honest, I love this quiet simple life more than the ritzy stylish one I was living with my parents. It's much more comfortable this way, and there's no pressure at all. It's just refreshing." She then let out a small sigh of contentment, and asked;

"Do you have any family?" Felling tears well in her eyes at this, she didn't respond. Seeing she was on the verge of crying the blonde gasped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine. I just, it's-" She took a deep breath. "It's complicated." Looking out the small window nearby, she saw the sun was close to setting.

"I think I should be heading home now." Pacifica nodded, and she drove her home. They were quiet for the ride, and when the brunette left the car, she turned back to her.

"Hey, I just wanna tell you, I had a good time! Maybe we can hang out another time soon!" Smiling, Pacifica called back;

"Of course! I'll see you later, Gen!"

She waved goodbye, and then drove away. With a good feeling, Mabel walked back into the shack. Today, she had just made a wonderful friend. As she laid down on the couch, she felt a cold feeling sweep over her as she fell asleep.

She had no idea what she was getting her into.

* * *

A/N: So they're friends! Wonderful! Sorry for the short author's note, but I have to leave soon, so please remember to review!


	9. The road to a nightmare

A/N: Ugh, I've recently come down with a fever. BEIBER FEVER! Ha, just kidding. But seriously, the flu is passing around my school and family, but I haven't caught it. I really hope I don't catch it at all, because I rarely ever get sick, but when I do, it hits me like a train, and everything hurts. I really hope you guys are feeling well, because if you're like me, you know getting sick is the worst. So, I hope you don't get sick, and if you are sick, I hope you feel better.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

* * *

Shaking her head, the woman opened her eyes. Everything around her was blurry. As her vision cleared, she found everything around her was lifeless and gray. Mabel's eyes widened as she realized where she was. Looking around carefully, she tried see if she could find _him._ Seeing no one was around, she felt much calmer. She decided to wander about, looking around. She found her home in Piedmont, and saw that the house was empty. She came inside, and found that there was a long staircase leading to a door. Looking at the ceiling, she saw there were several boxes labeled with things of hers, such as her hopes, fears, and memories. It was a similar lay-out of Stan's mind from so long ago. Shrugging off her curious feeling, she left the house. She wasn't ready to look through those things just yet. As she looked to the door, she found it had disappeared. Her eyes widening, Mabel banged against the closed up wall where the door had been. Then she tried to imagine it appearing, but that didn't work either. Suddenly, she heard his familiar voice;

"You can't leave until you look through your memories."

"Why the Hell should I do that?!"

She didn't hear a response, only him giggling like a little kid. Groaning, Mabel wanted to protest against his actions, but then decided to go along with it. Wandering back down the stairs hesitantly, she placed her hand on the railing. When she reached the bottom, she stood in front of the door that read _Mabel's Memories._ The door seemed grayer than all the others, and it looked like it would fade away from existence if she passed through it. Taking a deep breath, she passed through it, seeing screens that displayed all of her memories. She walked down a seemingly endless hallway until she came across some more unpleasant memories from her time in prison. Mabel stopped at a door, and opened it. Her eyes widened. She wanted to slam the door shut, but found herself frozen in place, she struggled against his hold, to no avail. She watched in horror as the events that changed her life unfolded before her eyes once more.

_"Dipper! No, no, no, oh my God! Please be ok!" Mabel held her brother's limp body in her arms, her saddened gaze meeting his lifeless one. _

_"Hey! What the Hell is- oh my God." Stan stared at her in shock, he looking up with tears in her eyes._

_"Mabel, what did you do?! Get away from him!"_

Watching her younger self in this state hurt. She wasn't ready for what happened next. She wanted more than anything to rush in there as she was handcuffed, begging for them to hear her side of the story. But no one would have listened to her anyways. Who would believe her? Tears welled in her eyes as she was forced to watch the memory over and over, as _he_ laughed in her ear, enjoying her discomfort, all the while the memory played again and again. It tore at her conscience to see it happen once more, she tried to look away, but found she could not. Tears trailed down her face slowly. Every time her brother was shot in the memory she let out a sob. Why did he have to rub it in that she was never going to see him again? Why did he have to torment her so? Why did he feel it was necessary to replay her heinous actions in front of her? She had nightmares about it every night, why did he think it was fun to see her pain and emotions bubbling out of her? It hurt, it hurt so much to see her brother fall to the ground with him bleeding from his right eye. And as her twelve year-old self screamed for him, and shook him as if trying to wake him up, her heart broke all over again.

"Please," She pleaded, _"Stop! Stop it!" _

Feeling the restricting hold on her disappear, she fell to her knees, and started bawling. Her sobs echoed through the space she was in, and she wiped her tears away, taking deep shaky breaths. Her body shuddered, and she breathed heavily. Turning back to the door, she slammed it shut, and slumped down against the door. She looked off to the side helplessly as he appeared next to her. Glaring at him, Mabel turned away from the brunette.

"Aw, now come on. Since you've seen it so many times, shouldn't you be used to it? It shouldn't shock you anymore. You shouldn't be shocked at what you did to me."

Sighing, the woman replied;

_"You aren't him. You aren't. Go away. You're not Dipper. You never will be."_

He simply shrugged at this, and floated so he was in front of her. With a softened expression, he pouted. She looked at him with loathing for a moment, before she broke down, and started to cry again. As she sobbed, he pulled her into a hug, gently patting her back. What surprised him was that she hugged _back. _He comforted her, saying things like; "There, there." or "It's ok, Mabel." She looked up at him, before burying her head into his shoulder once more. She grasped his shirt tightly, trying to calm down a bit. After a few more moments, she adjusted her position, now lying her head against his shoulder. She was no longer crying, only sniffling occasionally. He patted her head affectionately, and they sighed simultaneously.

"I miss Dipper. I wish he would come back. I just want to talk to him again." Mabel remarked. The man looked at her curiously.

"But, I'm right here. Do you really think I'm not him?" He asked, with a saddened expression. She closed her eyes for a few moments, before opening them and standing up. She glared at him, scowling.

"Of course, I would believe _you _to be him. Do you really think I'm that stupid? I'm not an airhead, you know. I'm not twelve."

He scowled, and stood up also, advancing towards her menacingly. She backed up a bit, before she stood in place, not moving to hold her ground. But as he stood in front of her, he shoved her back. Her back hit the wall, and she groaned slightly. He came forward, standing right in front of her. Gulping, her angry glare met his as he kept her pressed against the wall.

_"You really think that I haven't noticed yet? You never thought that I noticed what happened to you in prison? You have no fucking idea how long I've waited for you to come back, you bitch." _He growled angrily.

She shrunk away at this slightly, and he gripped her shoulders hard, still glaring. A moment later, though, everything started to fizz out like static.

"Fuck," He muttered.

Before she could do anything else, everything became white, and vanished around her. He turned to her one last time, and scowled. Leaning toward her, he whispered;

"Enjoy the time you have, Mabel. Enjoy it while you can. Because from now on, _I'm not holding back."_

Then, she woke up screaming.

* * *

A/N: Two updates in one week? I must be eating the souls of my enemies, because that's impossible! But one day... I just felt like being extra nice, cause I just finished finals for the trimester! Hell yeah! Whoo! I'm just happy I don't have to worry about tests for another 12 weeks! Anyway, I hope you guys have a good weekend, and please review!


	10. The road to a realization

A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner, some stuff is going on, and now I don't have constant access to a computer, so updates will probably take a bit longer to get up. But that won't deter me! Without further ado, the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

* * *

Sweeping the floor of the gift-shop, Mabel looked around anxiously. It had been three months since _he _had shown up in her dream. What he'd said had quite an effect on her, but he hadn't shown up since. It worried her deeply, and she was just dreading for the moment he would pop up and kill her, or condemn her to eternal damnation. She would prefer death, then at least she wouldn't have to suffer knowing he had gotten the better of her, and Mabel would never be able to reverse what he'd done. It would hurt much more, and in the end she just wanted to go through the least amount of suffering possible. But, where was he now? He hadn't even left a vague note or whispered to her when she least expected it. It was strange, like he had given up on tormenting her, and had decided to leave her be. Mabel had expected within the week he had done that he would get her on the spot. Nothing had happened. Nothing at all. To her, it was terrifying to just wait, and wait and wait.

But in that first month where nothing had happened to her, she had become better friends with Pacifica, learning she was aspiring to have an art gallery at the end of the year. She had invited Mabel ahead of time, and was busier than ever, painting and sketching at least eight hours a day. These bursts of "artistic booming"-as Pacifica put it-were rather taxing on the blonde's health. As she focused on one painting for a rather long while, she would not eat, drink, or rest, in fear of losing her mojo. This concerned the brunette when this happened for almost three weeks in a row. She had told Pacifica to rest for at least a week so she wouldn't collapse herself and faint from this intense work. The blonde begrudgingly agreed, but promised only a week of rest, claiming she would kill Mabel if these breaks set her back too much. The twenty-seven year-old simply agreed to this, and promised to spend that week with her.

Things around the Shack weren't too bad either, in fact, it seemed to be getting better with her working there with Soos. It could be exhausting at times when she had to work double shifts and overtime, but it was worth it to be safe, or at least, feel safe. With_him _invading her boundaries and most likely breaking their agreement about her 'curfew', it was nerve-wracking to be alone in the shack. But she somehow managed, and she had noticed, oddly enough, her reflection had been talking to her less and less lately, which slightly worried her. Was _he_ slowly killing her? Or maybe her reflection was developing an independent personality with her own thoughts and actions, just waiting for her to look in a real mirror so she could drag her inside and take her place forever. She had quickly dismissed the thought. If her reflection were out to get her, she would've known. It just sounded like a silly story someone would make up. They shared the same mind, Mabel would be able tell if something was off. At least, she hoped she would. _  
_

Mabel and Stan had gotten to be a bit more acquainted, and would often spend their evenings together in quiet peace. He would usually make her some tea, and they would silently enjoy their drinks. In these moments, Mabel was so tempted to do something other than just sit and stare ahead like an idiot. She would've preferred to be talking with Stan about the dumbest tourist that had thought the Bottomless Pit wasn't really bottomless even if they fell into it, or perhaps about her experiences in prison. She wanted to tell someone about it, but the words never escaped her mouth, she only stuttered on until she quietly continued in silence around him. It was relaxing, but so boring. Part of her was just so itching for something to happen, though she mostly ignored these thoughts. It wouldn't do her any good to impulsively run out after dark to the middle of the woods and wait for him to come and then run as fast as she could, giggling like a maniac as she tripped, he caught her, and blood slowly trailed on and on until she was no more. Then what he did with her body-

She shuddered at the thought. It was just too risky, even if she didn't want to feel caged up like she had been in prison, like she was just an animal with no way to escape the disturbed cage of her mind and limits. And ever night, his laugh had haunted her as the memories played on repeat in her head, over and over until she cried herself to sleep. It was her only sanctuary from her continual decent into what she hoped wasn't insanity, but she was already insane wasn't she? Why did she always feel like one thing could make her change from battered and bruised to a Hell raging demon? It didn't make sense. Not to mention she was constantly keeping up her disguise, which she wanted to drop, but then Mabel would remind herself; "Would I rather live or die?" Though she usually tossed and turned about this decision. It was so tiring to keep it up. But she needed to do this for Dipper! But would Dipper want her hiding behind a mask and never truly gain forgiveness? These conflicts in her mind usually ended up with her screaming and breaking something, whether it be the broom she'd be holding, the book she'd be reading, or the plate she'd be carrying. It was a chore to glue these things back together, if it was possible to. She eventually learned to control these rages for the most part, and would later take it out on something else. But with Mabel constantly battling these conflicts, keeping up a disguise, working just so she wouldn't be thrown onto the streets, and dealing with going to the old pine tree every day to continually not get a response from her beloved brother, it was a surprise she hadn't had a breakdown sooner.

Keyword: Sooner.

Now she had locked herself in the bathroom, and was sobbing hysterically. Mabel had been working just fine and just closed up shop when she realized what she had been doing for the past three moths. Because of the stress building up inside of her, she had immediately broken down, and couldn't bear standing there. She wasn't ready for the full on realization. It hurt like Hell, and Mabel felt like this was the only thing her life would be. Her family either hated her, or was dead or close to death, her only friends didn't even know who she really was, there was someone who was out to get her with an intent to kill her, and the only thing keeping her sane was the thought of gaining forgiveness. But it would be impossible. Unachievable. She was just... Ridiculous, stupid, terrible, bad, heinous, unredeemed.

Unredeemed.

Taking another shuddering breath, she sobbed again.

There would never be a chance for her to redeem herself.

She had the chance to take the road to redemption, but had ignored it, and now she was paying for it.

Now, she truly felt alone. No one knew who she really was. Hell, even she didn't know who she was. It wasn't possible for her to be Mabel Pines, was it? No. It was impossible for her to be that once innocent little girl. It was obvious to her now, she was never really Mabel Pines, was she? She was just an insane, delusional psycho who had killed a boy she never truly knew for no good reason. H_e _was probably just her mind giving her something to blame her actions on. He wasn't real. She had probably threatened Stan to let her stay there, and her mind gave a warped telling of it. No one loved her. She wasn't to be trusted. It was her time to go. It was her time to leave. With shaking hands, she reached for the cabinet above the sink. Opening it, she pulled out one of the razors Stan kept to shave himself. She briefly glanced at her covered wrist. She quickly rolled the sleeve to her elbow, her pale arm revealed to her. With her eyes closed, she felt the hand holding the razor slowly hover over the wrist, slowly inching toward the sensitive spot.

All of a sudden, she heard an insistent banging on the door, and Stan shouting, asking her if she was ok. The brunette paused with the razor on her wrist, but not pushing hard enough to draw blood. With tears reappearing in her eyes, she let out a small sigh. With the tears being wiped away, she put the razor back in the cabinet. It wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth it if she'd have to see the hurt on Stan's face. She could never forgive herself. Then there'd be two things she'd have to redeem herself from. She unlocked the door, and was met by Stan scolding her about how he was worried about her. With relief, she promised she'd never do it again, and he sighed, giving her a hug and pat on the back. Mabel returned the hug, and wandered downstairs. She looked at the couch with slight loathing. After sleeping on it for three months, her back felt like shit. She wanted to sleep somewhere else, and Mabel looked up at the ceiling. With a furrowed brow, she walked back up the stairs, and cautiously opened the door to her room. The hinges creaked and moaned as it swung open, with light from the hallway seeping in. She reached for the light switch on the wall, and it flickered for a moment, before dimly lighting the room.

Everything was as it was the last time Mabel saw it. She walked toward the bed, and picked up the blanket off of it. She shook it wildly, and the dust on it came off, making her cough as it floated through the air. Glancing back at the bed, she laid down on it, curling up. Sighing contentedly, she soon fell asleep, breathing quietly, as he appeared in the room. With a scowl, he glared at the young woman sleeping so nicely, as if her peacefulness was mocking him. He took a few steps toward her without a sound, and brushed aide a bit of her hair, revealing more of her face. Mabel only breathed quietly, and curled up more. He felt his throat close up, seeing her like this. She looked so lovely-

He snapped out of this thought. That was just disgusting. Why had he even thought that?! Ugh. He only shook his head at this, and glared at her longer. He didn't wait three whole fucking months just for her to back out on her demise. He was sure, absolutely fucking sure, that he had her cornered. He was sure he wouldn't have thought those thoughts about her when he wasn't near her, he was sure that he could've gotten rid of her today.

But he didn't.

With a growl, he leaned toward her. She only remained sleeping, and he sighed. He couldn't do it himself. At least not at the moment. He glanced at her form in the sheets. There was enough room for one more... He shook his head. Now was not the time for that. But as he stared longer, he felt the temptation was too strong. He gave into his urge, and gently lifted the sheet off of her so he'd be able to get under it, too. He swiftly laid down, without a sound or a disturbance. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist, and she only curled up more at this. He pulled her a bit closer to him, and enjoyed this quiet moment. Closing his eyes, he snapped his fingers, and the light above them flicked off.

* * *

A/N: So, is _he_ Dipper? Bill? Manly Dan? ...Wait, who said that?! Toby, was that you?! Ugh, Toby... Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! I hope you're all seriously creeped out at _his_ actions for this chapter. If it's Dipper, that's really, really creepy. If it's Bill, that's also really, really creepy. If it's Manly Dan- That makes literally no sense. *shudders* Ugh. Anyways, thank you for reading, and please review! But not you, Toby. Not you.


	11. The road to an awakening

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

* * *

With a restless night of sleep, the brunette groaned. She dreamed she had kicked and struggled against something that was holding her. It was a dark and unrecognizable shape, but as she woke up, she felt like she hadn't gotten any sleep at all. Mabel realized she felt something strange, like someone was in the bed with her. After moving around to ignore the feeling, she found there really_was _someone in the bed with her. Panicking, she threw the blanket off of herself, and jumped out of bed. When she turned around, she expected to see the intruder panicking and racing about. She was surprised when no one was there. Breathing heavily, she calmed herself down. It was probably just her event from last night must have really shaken her up. Sighing to herself, she placed the sheet back on the bed, and sat on it, surveying the room. It was a dusty nightmare, not a single one of her things wasn't covered in dust. Wrinkling her nose, she brushed some of the dust off the ground beneath her. She groaned upon finding it was thickly caked on, with at least two inches of dust covering the floor. Deciding to clean the room the best she could, she got a broom from the closet in the room, and started sweeping.

The dust was easy enough to sweep up, and soon enough she had swept the entire floor,with the exception of under the bed. She wiped some of the dust off the window in their room, which reminded her of the man. Brushing away the thought like she brushed away the dust, Mabel continued cleaning. After she had finished taking the sheets from the bed to be washed, the woman looked at the mattress. It was extremely dirty, and smelled funny. Leaning down, she sniffed it, and the mattress smelled like... Well, she couldn't quite describe it, but the smell was so familiar, she knew she had smelled it before. Shrugging it off, Mabel began to clean the mattress also, and by noon, she had the room clean. Mabel smiled at her handy work, and then remembered the shift she was supposed to work. Her eyes widening, She threw on her disguise, and rushed downstairs with worry. As she rushed into the gift-shop, she shouted;

"I'm sorry! I was just cleaning the room upstairs and lost track of time! Please don't fire me!"

When Mabel heard no reaction, she looked around carefully. No one was in the gift-shop. A bit startled by this, she wandered into the living room, where Soos and Stan were, watching something. They looked up to see her, and Soos uttered a;

"'Sup, dawg?" She gave a confused look, so he explained after turning back to the T.V.

"We're having a day off, it's raining pretty bad outside, so customers probably won't show up. Plus, from what Stan told me, you need a break, Gen."

He patted the spot next to him, offering her to sit down. With a small breath of relief, she sat down, and found they were watching Loinclothiclese: Revenge of the Midriff'. They were halfway through the movie, and Loinclothiclese was ready to kill the cyclops. She broke into a nervous sweat from the stop-motion figures, and squirmed uncomfortably. Noticing this and remembering her fear of the models, he quickly paused the movie, and turned to Mabel. She looked up, surprised he had paused it.

"Hey, do you want to grab us some soda's or something?"

Taking this as a hint to leave, she nodded, and left the room, and Stan played the movie once she was gone. Soos looked confused as he thought they were going to wait for her, but soon shrugged it off as the movie kept playing.

* * *

As soon as Mabel left the room, she let out a relieved sigh. Looking outside the kitchen window, she found the rain was pouring outside, so much so that it seemed to rattle the window. Shivering slightly, Mabel turned back to the refrigerator, opened it, and picked out three cans. She pulled out a sharpie from one of the nearby drawers, and wrote a small note, taping it to Stan's can. A moment later, she tossed them the soda, and walked back upstairs. She picked out the things she had been bringing to the tree for the past months, and took the only umbrella they had, put on her raincoat, and made her way to the door.

"Hey, M-Gen, where are you going?" Stan asked. She ignored him, and left the shack, carefully. The rain was truly fierce, and the wind whipped the rain at Mabel, proving the umbrella to be almost completely useless. She shivered from the cold, piercing rain, trying to make her way up the cliff-side without getting hurt. After a few minutes, the umbrella slipped from her grip, and tumbled over the side before she could grab onto it.

Gasping at this, Mabel rushed to peer over the edge, and saw it fall to the forest below. With a scowl, she continued on, thinking if she went in the forest she would be lost until nightfall, and _he_ would catch her. He was probably responsible for the gust of wind that made her lose it. Deciding not to give him the satisfaction of making her turn back, she finally got to the top, finding the old pine tree's branches were fanned out more than usual, as if to make a small roof. With a small smile, she rushed under the tree, seeking temporary shelter, which really did keep her from getting any wetter than she already she was. Wringing out some of the water in her hair, Mabel sighed as she leaned against the bark of the tree for a moment before kneeling down, and setting down the vase, lighting the candles, and a new envelope. Setting it against the tree, she sighed.

Mabel clasped her hands together as if to pray, and whispered;

"Dipper, _please_, I _know_ you're there, I _know_ you can hear me. So _please_ just answer! It's been over fifteen years, I need to hear from you, I need you to hear me! Please, I just want-"

Her pleading was cut off by a familiar voice in her head. Her eyes widened at hearing this voice, she couldn't believe it was him! Her eyes becoming clouded with tears at his words, she felt like she might faint. To hear him after all this time, she couldn't describe her feelings. Wiping away her tears, she let out an echoing sob, crying harder as the rain increased. Mabel cried, for how long, she didn't know. But when she eventually left the tree, the rain had almost completely stopped, now coming down at a light sprinkle. She trudged home, feeling hollow and empty. She didn't really look up as she ran into someone. She glanced up, and then tensed up, seeing it was Wendy. The red-head narrowed her eyes at her immediately, and glared at Mabel as the brunette apologized for running into her. Wendy was rather curious about what she was doing out, almost soaking wet. She decided to strike up a conversation with her.

"So, what are you doing out here? Aren't you supposed to be working at the shack?"

"No, we have a day off, so I went out for a walk."

"You went for a walk when it raining?" Skepticism dripped from her voice.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Wait, I mean, um, no! No, I mean, um..." She trailed off, as Wendy glared at her suspiciously.

"'Um' what? What are you hiding?"

"W-what? I'm not hiding anything!"

"Says the suspicious woman who's never shown her face. Who are you?"

Wendy reached out to tear off her disguise, and in that moment, Mabel panicked. As the red-head moved her arm to grab it, Mabel grabbed her arm, and threw Wendy over with all her strength onto her back. As Wendy lay in the mud, stunned by this move, Mabel gasped, and reached to help her up.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry, let me help y-"

"NO! Get away from me, you bitch!" She screeched, and scooted away from her with her now sprained arm.

Wendy winced, it hurt like Hell. She glared fiercely at the brunette. Mabel shrunk back a bit, staring nervously as the thirty year-old grunted, getting up by herself. As she stared at Mabel a while longer, something in her brain clicked. The disguise, the woman avoiding her, the fact she hadn't seen Mabel even after she had just shown up... She suddenly screamed, and jumped at Mabel, ferociously attacking her. Wendy ripped out handfuls of her hair out, scratched at her stomach, and slapped her so that red marks were forming on her cheeks. Mabel wanted to fight back, but could never get a punch in between Wendy's hits.

Finally, she punched Mabel hard enough to knock off the scarf and glasses, and she fell to the ground. Wendy's eyes widened, she was right! It was Mabel. Mabel scrambled to grab at her disguise, but the red-head threw the scarf into the mud, and broke the glasses in half. Gulping, the brunette was grabbed by the collar roughly, as Wendy growled to her;

"You. Fucking. Whore. You had the fucking nerve to stay in Gravity Falls even after what happened, and you don't even fucking care, do you?! Mabel Pines, I will say this once, and only once;

I'm literally going to kill you."

Mabel's eyes widened, but before she could protest, Wendy slammed her forehead against her knee hard enough for her to lose consciousness. A large bruise now formed on her forehead as the red-head dragged her body in the mud into the woods. Wendy dragged her by the arm, not caring for her state as her head hit rocks and twigs. Finally, she found a small creek that lead into a river a few miles down. Lifting Mabel's body up, she carelessly tossed her in, watching to make sure she was pulled down the creek. As Mabel was dragged by the flow of the water, Wendy smiled in satisfaction. She would drown if she stayed unconscious, or if she woke up it would be most likely impossible for her to get back to Gravity Falls.

Wendy continued on her merry way, not noticing a strange shadow start to follow her...


End file.
